1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communication devices and, more particularly, to a conflict resolution mechanism for managing calendar events with a mobile communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication devices have expanded communication boundaries to enable businessmen to productively conduct business while away from an office and to allow social networks to extend past geographic limits. In many ways, these mobile communication devices have become hubs upon which our lives revolve.
Many of the communication devices include data exchange capabilities and resident software applications. The software applications often include contact management software and scheduling software. At present, the mobile device is typically treated as a distributed component of a desktop system. That is, a user's primary calendar is maintained on a desktop computing system, which is periodically synchronized with the mobile device. Synchronization actions can be based upon wireless data transfers or wired transfers occurring when the mobile device is docked.
The synchronizations can be performed bidirectionally, but the limited input and output modalities available via the mobile device often make data entry/changes from the device a cumbersome process that is only performed occasionally. The same can be said for stand-alone scheduling software on mobile devices; it is a convenient addition to the device, yet is seldom used as a primary schedule management system.
To illustrate, consider difficulties in manually resolving scheduling conflicts from a mobile device. First, a user must notice a scheduling conflict, which should not be assumed because current mobile device applications do not automatically detect conflicts. Next, currently scheduled events must be viewed on a tiny display, which typically requires viewing multiple pages and scrolling. A user then attempts to adjust scheduled event times so they don't conflict, which is often a cumbersome process performed by using a touch screen, a stylus, and/or a tiny keypad. A user can then try to view, using multiple pages and scrolling again, the changes to confirm the changes are desired. Then, each meeting participant for a changed event needs to be contacted and informed of the change. This process is slow and error prone enough that users typically opt to wait and perform these actions from a desktop system or have an administrative person (contacted via the mobile device) perform the changes for them.
Mobile devices are not destined to remain relegated to an ancillary schedule management role. Current ones of these devices include presently unused capabilities that would significantly enhance schedule management systems. For example, an increasing number of mobile telephone devices include a location detection capability provided by a Global Positioning System (GPS) component. If a user is assumed to be located proximate to this mobile device, distances between scheduled event locations and a user location can be automatically considered when scheduling actions are performed. What is needed is a solution that integrates mobile devices into a schedule management system in a manner that better utilizes the capabilities of the mobile devices. Further, an ideal solution would enable a mobile device user to handle scheduling conflicts is an intuitive manner from the device itself.